About Eric

ERIC KIRSCH is a former Captain in the United States Marine Corps who served multiple combat deployments in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom. Commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant after graduating with honors from The Citadel in 2004, Kirsch served in Iraq as Human Intelligence Exploitation Team (HET) Officer in Charge before being selected for further training at the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) Joint Counterintelligence Training Academy (JCITA), earning the title of Special Agent with the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) in 2009. Since his honorable discharge in 2012, Kirsch has served as an Offensive Counterintelligence Operations instructor at JCITA; as a civilian Special Agent with NCIS; and as a civilian Advisor to the American Government and the Kurdish Regional Government in Iraqi Kurdistan. He is the founder and CEO of Torchlight USA.

This blog is record of our journey. I hope you enjoy!

~Eric

A Drawn out War. The artistic genius of US Marine, Anya V. Yakovleva.

Featured guest author, remarkable artist, Mother, and US Marine Anya V. Yakovleva of American Heroes Through Graphite. (Field Comment – The only thing I can draw is curtains. Further if I ever tried drawing, I’m pretty sure I’d be arrested as its certain that I’d had been…framed. Anya, is an impossibly talented artist, IMPOSSIBLY. I write this without a shred of embellishment. Her work, routinely stops me dead in my tracks in sheer astonishment. Constantly people ignorantly misuse the adjective; “Awesome”. Awesome defined; is causing or inducing awe; inspiring an overwhelming feeling of reverence, admiration, or fear: the following sketches are a brief glimpse into her professional portfolio and they are an remarkably imposing body of work.)

Anya: I joined USMC in July 2001, I served through 2005. During that time I deployed in February 2003. After my time in the service I attended college earning my Associates degree in Heath science and became a histologist. This is now my career. I have always been able to draw and paint, from a very early age. During my military time I have done portrait work here and there for friends, nothing ever serious.

It wasn’t until a couple years ago when I met my boyfriend that I picked up the pencils again, but this time with a much deeper purpose. Just as the book “the things they carried” inspired me to become a marine and join the service, hearing his story of his friends and being in combat, sparked the same “something important” I had to do in my life. This is when American heroes through graphite was born. For two some years now I have been commemorating our fallen heroes. There are so many…..I want them to know they will live on forever through my hand to paper. Each mark I make and there is a countless amount of marks, is a memory, a legacy they left behind.

A huge part of AHTG also is donating to organizations to raise funds at auctions. I never charge a gold star mother or father for my work, and that will never change. I am not a 501.c3, I draw and I donate art prints that’s it. Although it does take time and money to produce and ship those items.

I do a lot of commission work, although I would like to work on some things that are in my mind that I would like to see on paper.

eric

Eric graduated with honors in 2004 from the The Citadel, the Military College of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, USA. He was then commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant, United States Marine Corps the same year, completed multiple combat deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan as a Counterintelligence / Human Source Intelligence Officer and later as a Case Officer and Active Duty Special Agent with the Naval Criminal Investigative Service. Eric honorably discharged as a Captain after 8 years’ service in 2012.

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About Eric

ERIC KIRSCH is a former Captain in the United States Marine Corps who served multiple combat deployments in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom. Commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant after graduating with honors from The Citadel in 2004, Kirsch served in Iraq as Human Intelligence Exploitation Team (HET) Officer in Charge before being selected for further training at the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) Joint Counterintelligence Training Academy (JCITA), earning the title of Special Agent with the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) in 2009. Since his honorable discharge in 2012, Kirsch has served as an Offensive Counterintelligence Operations instructor at JCITA; as a civilian Special Agent with NCIS; and as a civilian Advisor to the American Government and the Kurdish Regional Government in Iraqi Kurdistan. He is the founder and CEO of Torchlight USA.